Senior marketing strategy on a monthly retainer
A lighter-touch alternative to a full Fractional CMO engagement: a regular strategy call, async support between calls and a monthly review — for a predictable monthly fee, with no long lock-in. Apply once, and I'll send a tailored proposal and a manual invoice.
Senior ownership, days not headcount
- Leadership01
- Delivery02
- Reporting03
You want senior judgement, not a six-figure hire
Most SMEs sit between two options: muddle through without senior marketing direction, or commit to a full-time Marketing Director at £70,000–£100,000 plus the cost of employment. The Growth Advisory Retainer fills the gap in between.
You get the decisions that matter — what to prioritise, where the budget should go, what to stop — on a rhythm that suits your business, without owning a full-time role or a costly agency retainer. It is the most accessible way to put a Chartered Marketer in your corner.
What's in the retainer
Every tier is advisory — strategy, direction and review — billed monthly in advance with no setup fee.
Regular strategy calls
A scheduled call every month, fortnight or week depending on tier, focused on the highest-leverage decision for that period.
Async support between calls
Email or a dedicated channel for questions, quick reviews and sign-off, so you are never waiting weeks for a steer.
A monthly review
What marketing produced, what to change and where the next pound of budget should go — in plain commercial language.
Playbook library access
The full set of MCG frameworks, audit checklists and planning templates, applied to your situation as needed.
No long lock-in
Month-to-month, invoiced in advance. Change tier with a month's notice or pause for a quiet period.
45 minutes. A clear next step.
Discovery
Diagnosis
Recommendation
Three tiers, all month-to-month
From £500/month. These are starting points — apply and I'll tailor a proposal to your situation, then invoice manually. No automatic charge is ever taken on this site.
Essentials
£500per month
Senior direction you can call on — the cheapest way to put a marketing leader in your corner.
- A 45-minute strategy call each month
- Async email support between calls
- One prioritised review of your activity, budget or landing page
- Playbook library access
Growth
£1,000per month
The rhythm most clients settle into once marketing needs a steady hand, not a one-off opinion.
- A strategy call every two weeks
- Async support between calls
- Monthly reporting review with recommendations
- A quarterly strategy refresh
- Full playbook library access
Scale
£1,500per month
Weekly senior judgement for a business in a growth sprint, a repositioning or a pivot phase.
- A strategy call every week
- A dedicated support channel
- A monthly strategy working session
- Priority booking on discovery and review work
- Full playbook library access
Prices are a starting point, quoted monthly and invoiced in advance. There is no setup fee and no long lock-in — the retainer runs month to month. Apply below and I'll send a tailored proposal and a manual invoice; nothing is charged automatically.
This is right for you if
- You turn over roughly £1m–£10m and want senior direction, but a full-time Marketing Director does not yet add up.
- You have an in-house marketer or an agency that needs a clearer brief and someone senior holding it to account.
- You want a predictable monthly cost rather than open-ended project fees.
- You value independent, Chartered judgement over an agency with media to sell.
- You want the option to scale up to a Fractional CMO engagement when the work justifies it.
How the retainer works in practice
The detail behind the tiers: what the calls cover, how async support works and how progress is judged.
What a strategy call actually covers
Each call is built around the single highest-leverage decision for that period, not a status update. That might be reallocating paid budget after a quarter's data, sharpening a proposition ahead of a campaign, deciding whether a channel deserves more or less spend, or making a hiring call.
You leave with clear next steps, an owner for each one and the reasoning behind the decision written down — so the rest of your team or your agency can act on it without you translating.
Async support between calls
Strategy questions rarely arrive on a schedule. Between calls you have direct access for quick reviews, sign-off and steer — a campaign variant, a landing page, a reporting question, a supplier proposal. The point is that you are not waiting a month between touchpoints for a senior view.
Async is advisory: direction and review, not delivery. If a piece of work needs building, I help you brief the right person for it — in-house, agency or from my network.
The monthly review
Once a month you get an honest read on what marketing produced against target: cost per qualified enquiry by channel, conversion rates and pipeline contribution where the data allows, with a clear recommendation to increase, hold or cut spend.
It is written for a board audience, uses the same definitions every month, and is the thing that keeps the retainer accountable rather than a subscription you forget you are paying for.
Scaling up from the retainer
Many businesses start on a retainer to test the working relationship and move up to a Fractional CMO engagement when the volume of decisions justifies more days a week. The transition is seamless — the strategy, the reporting and the working rhythm carry straight over.
If the opposite turns out to be true and what you need is delivery, not direction, I will say so and help you find the right resource. The retainer is not a trap; it is the most flexible way to start.
Marketing thinking in short form
Strategy, SEO and paid search explained in a couple of minutes on Instagram and TikTok.
Where to go next
A few things worth reading — and the pages most people move to from here.
Related insights
- SME GrowthWhen an SME Should Hire a Fractional CMO Instead of a Marketing DirectorThe revenue, team and complexity signals that decide between part-time and full-time leadership.
- AnalyticsThe Five Marketing Numbers Your Board Actually WantsThe reporting set that turns marketing activity into a commercial conversation.
- AIThe AI Operating Model: What a Small Marketing Team Should Automate FirstWhich marketing tasks to hand to AI, which to keep human, and how to govern the difference.
Frequently asked questions
Not sure which tier fits?
Apply with a few details and I'll recommend the right starting point — or tell you honestly if a different service is a better fit. No automatic payment, no obligation.